governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation

Delhi voters are in search of a government. The BJP only has 32 and can at best reach 34 with the two “others” elected. To go further and get 36 it needs to break off two-thirds of the Congress or the Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLAs. Neither option seems viable.

The AAP has been offered support from the Congress. With its 28 MLAs and 8 from the Congress, it can form a government. In fact it is duty bound to do so and has no choice in the matter.

Kejriwal’s dictat that the AAP will form a government only if it is in majority and shall not seek support from any other party, runs completely against the grain of parliamentary democracy.

Forming a government is a duty of political parties which either have the numbers or can coalesce to get them. It is not an option.

To extend this absurdity further, imagine if even a majority party should choose to sit in the opposition on the grounds that it is not “ready” to run a government or too busy fighting elections elsewhere to dirty its hands with governance in Delhi. Where does it leave citizens and their supporters? Did they press the AAP button by mistake instead of the NOTA button?

It now becomes incumbent on the Lt. Governor of Delhi (LG) to ask the AAP to form the government since BJP, neither has the numbers, nor can it get additional support. The interesting issue is what the LG should do in case AAP refuses or pleads lack of numbers. How should the LG treat the offer of support to the AAP from the Congress?

The LG can break new grounds by “requiring” the AAP to form the government on the back of the Congress promise of support. This will bring a degree of responsibility into electoral practices. A party must not be allowed to escape the consequences of its public actions or destroy the very fabric of representative democracy, by casually spurning the mandate to govern.

Are there sanctions which could apply in case AAP refuses to govern? Should the Election Commission withhold recognition on grounds of the frivolous approach of the AAP to governance?

The Delhi conundrum is exactly what is sought to be avoided in other systems, where a runoff between the two candidates getting the largest vote share is prescribed, till one of them gets a clear majority. We don’t have that useful system in India, precisely with the intention of not disadvantaging new parties or those with less than majority support, since their electability is low. This positive feature of our electoral system should not translate into a potential political vacuum.

Even purely strategically, it boggles the mind as to why AAP should refuse an offer of support, from the Congress, to form the government. Accepting unconditional support from any party cannot reduce the “clean image” of the AAP. What is far more important than merely forming a government is running it cleanly and here the AAP would have a free hand.

The AAP can go ahead and form its Council of Ministers and Kejriwal can realize Anna’s recent prediction of becoming CM. Thereafter, they will face the challenge of passing the Annual Budget. They could formulate the kind of budget which they have promised, using the best brains in the business and they are not likely to be short of support on this ground.

If the budget is sensibly formulated, the Congress will find it very difficult to withdraw support. Wilful withdrawal of support will injure the credibility of the Congress and build the credibility of the AAP. Even just going through the exercise of formulating the budget is likely to be highly productive for the AAP and will build its capacity, as a party.

Kejriwal’s knee jerk rejection of Congress support needs to be reviewed. The LG, is known for his congeniality and diplomatic skills, and hopefully shall be able to convince Kejriwal that the interest of Delhi and the AAP, as a political party, lies in getting into the muck of governance.

Comments on: "AAP can’t buck the muck" (1)

The Congress could not have pleaded its case better! Mr. Ahluwalia has completely missed the the whole point of AAP’s existence: that it will not indulge in the traditional shenanigans of the Congress and BJP. Just yesterday Kejriwal was being derided for hungering for power and today he is being condemned for refusing it! The other truism the writer is missing is that his voters did not elect him to get into bed with the Congress or the BJP- there could be no greater betrayal of their trust if he were to do so. Democracy is not about forming govts by hook or by( or with) crook(s): it is about respecting the people’s wishes-and Delhi does not want a puppet govt with the master puppeteer pulling the strings from 10 Janpath. An AAp govt. with Congress support would be a castrated one from day one-Kejriwal would not be allowed to function or implement his policies-and then would be criticised for not honouring his promises! Sooner or later he would be pulled down-we still remember the Congress’s support to Chandrashekhar and IK Gujral! And President’s rule for six months is not exactly an acopalypse-hung Assemblies happen all the time. Its a price to be paid for honest democracy-a much lower price than what the people pay when governments are cobbled together only for the sake of power. Another hundred crores spent on a re-election may seem exorbitant to the author, but true democracy should not be computed in rupees but in the values it upholds.